Artcover

Metallic Burn: Trautonist's "Fire and Ember"

Artcover

I don’t really expect to feel any warmth and comfort while listening to anything even remotely related to metal (read as: the majority of Invisible Oranges submissions). Looking back to bands like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest? Sure, there is intensity and a rush of adrenaline, but the classics have always been a source of ferocity and an adversarial spirit. After years of listening, research, and meditation, I’ve come to an odd realization: metal and its offshoots are and have always been about brazen denial, spitting anger, or cold indifference.

Most might not consider Trautonist to be a metal, let alone black metal, band. While I am inclined to agree, that same metallic intensity is there. Forging a path from the ethereal end of post-rock, shoegaze, and indie rock into metal’s emotive spectrum and volume, Trautonist’s second album Ember posses an interesting thought: with all these metal bands trying their damndest to emulate, why not do the opposite?

Compared to their self-titled 2016 debut, Trautonist is suddenly through the looking glass, and the balance of stylistic weight shifts accordingly. Even at their most aggressive and blasting, there is an inherent brightness and warmth which I would more closely associate with a band like Airiel than the more obvious shoegaze metal luminary Alcest. This warmth for something which even has a hint of metal influence is something new, something different and hard to place. It is an unexpected change, and yet it fits, and Trautonist’s unapologetic pop-inflicted spirit offers a new philosophical drive for a style which, for all intents and purposes, has yet to move past 2009.

Ember will be released later this April through Pest Productions with vinyl preorders opening March 2nd through Wolves and Vibrancy Records (expected vinyl release date is May 4th). Listen to an exclusive premiere of album opener “Fire and Ember” below.

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